Definition

1. Noun:
   • A virus that remains dormant in the body for a long time before symptoms appear: A "slow virus" is a type of infectious agent characterized by a very long incubation period, often lasting months or years, during which it shows no signs of activity before eventually causing progressive and often fatal disease.

Usage

• The term "slow virus" is used in medical and virology contexts to describe a specific class of viral infections. It is typically used as a countable noun.
• Example:
• Example:

Examples

Advanced Usage

• The term "slow virus" was more commonly used in historical medical literature. Modern science has reclassified the agents causing diseases like kuru and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease not as conventional viruses but as prions (infectious proteins). However, the term remains useful for understanding the historical progression of medical knowledge.
• It can be used metaphorically in non-medical contexts to describe a problem that develops very gradually.
  • Example (Metaphorical): Corruption in the institution acted like a slow virus, weakening its foundations over decades.

Variants and Related Words

• Prion (n): An infectious protein particle that causes neurodegenerative diseases, now understood to be the agent for many diseases once thought to be caused by "slow viruses."
• Latent virus (n): A virus that becomes dormant after initial infection but may reactivate later (e.g., herpes viruses). This differs from a "slow virus," which is active but slow-progressing from the start.
• Unconventional virus (n): An older term sometimes used synonymously with "slow virus."

Synonyms

• Unconventional infectious agent (historical context)
• Prion disease agent (modern understanding for specific cases)

Notes on Meaning

• The primary and most specific meaning is the medical one described above.
• The metaphorical usage is secondary and derives from the core characteristic of delayed, gradual impact.

Noun

1. a virus that remains dormant in the body for a long time before symptoms appear
   • kuru is caused by a slow virus